


Overtrained

by captainmaolord



Category: Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart (Cartoon)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Found Family, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Relationship(s), Romance, Self-Esteem Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:08:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27832045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainmaolord/pseuds/captainmaolord
Summary: As the Sheriff of Pure Heart Valley, Mao Mao knows that carrying the mantle requires him to be willing to sacrifice his body and mind to the cause—especially if it finally impresses his father (and family).And that worries his close friend, Badgerclops.
Relationships: Badgerclops/Mao Mao Mao
Comments: 4
Kudos: 44





	1. Be Better

Badgerclops watched his closest friend training in the dojo from the kitchen window. It was mesmerizing to see Mao Mao's skills in action without worrying about saving the valley from the Sky Pirates or invasive monsters. It made him grateful to have someone like him in his life, even though it meant cleaning up and repairing the training bots that often get destroyed. But secretly, he really liked watching his friend destroy them flawlessly. 

Then, there was a part of Mao Mao that always reared its ugly head when none of the sweetypies were looking; the part that Badgerclops always hated noticing ever since they started traveling together. Today, for example, this part was notably bad. He caught onto it when he saw his friend getting too close to the bots for his own comfort. It was still difficult to see Mao Mao risking his well-being just for an ounce of notability, considering he’s always had that flaw.

‘You got this.’ Badgerclops told himself while putting the popcorn into bowls. ‘Don't let his emotions get the better of you.’ 

Taking a deep breath, Badgerclops quietly made his way from the kitchen to the dojo with a bowl of popcorn. When he got to the sliding door, it was partially opened, which made getting in easy. Adorabat was utterly silent as she watched her idol practicing. With Geraldine (his katana), Mao Mao carefully sliced one of the bot's blaster arms in half and managed to block some of the beams in time. He dodged the others as one left a hole in his cape.

Badgerclops ducked under a laser beam as it hit the wooden support beam. He wasn't worried about any injuries since he designed it only to stun its opponents, not harm them. Then, he took a seat next to Adorabat and placed down the bowl between them. She immediately noticed the smell of buttery popcorn and started eating them while making sure to watch Mao Mao, who had just overwhelmed two more training bots with several quick strikes from his katana, causing them to explode.

There were two left, and one of them float towards him with a massive sword. It went to hit the black cat, but he was able to dodge its attacks and deliver a fatal blow. The last bot took the time to aim its laser cannon at the target. Mao Mao barely had enough time to block the beam with his katana. Then, he rushed towards it and decapitated before it could respond. With the remaining bots defeated, Mao Mao took a moment to breathe and reached for the pause button on the stopwatch nearby.

 _Two minutes and eighteen seconds_.

 _‘It wasn't good enough.'_ Mao Mao put down the stopwatch and took a deep, disappointed breath. Despite it being a new record, he knew that a minor four-second improvement wasn't impressive enough. He had the capability to do better. To **be** better, something that his father always pushed onto him and his sisters. So, he had to try again. Adorabat flew towards him and began praising him for the 'awesome' swordsmanship. Badgerclops watched as his friend thanked her for the compliment and knew that he was upset about something. Over the years, he'd learned how to decode Mao's body language into something he could understand clearly. For example, he had a tendency to tug on his cape whenever he felt uncomfortable around the people of Pure Heart. Currently, he wasn't looking at Adorabat now because he was feeling disappointed with himself. 

That was when Badgerclops figured it out by taking a look at the stopwatch. Mao Mao was dissatisfied with the incredible time, which was a side effect of being born into a family of legendary heroes. He despised them so much for ruining his friend. But he’d always be there for him. Putting his hand on his friend's shoulder, Badgerclops smiled at Mao Mao and said lightheartedly. "You did great, dude."

Badgerclops' compliment was enough to cause Mao Mao's face to light up, even though it was simple. It always felt amazing to hear his best friend praising him. He struggled to say something before letting out a single "Yeah..."

Then, he noticed that the entire dojo was covered in robot parts and was worried about someone, partially Adorabat, getting hurt. Mao Mao looked at his friend again and asked, "Do you mind helping me clean and then-"

"-fix them up for tomorrow?" Badgerclop finished the sentence for him and then groaned at the thought of cleaning up this mess. "Can we not do that right this second? Besides, aren't you suppose to be stretching and taking it easy after practice?"

Mao Mao answered, "I can do those things once the floor isn't covered in parts. Plus, I need to be training regularly in order to improve my abilities. As my father once said-"

"Okay, I get it!" Badgerclops interrupted Mao Mao before he had to listen to him talk about what nonsense his father told him. "I will fix them after helping you clean. Adorabat will also help out, right?"

"Yeah!" Adorabat screamed in excitement and instantly began grabbing bot parts, which caused Badgerclops to tell her to slow down. Mao Mao couldn't help but ponder about what his friend said about taking it easy. Perhaps, he might finally play that video game Badgerclops was urging him to try out. But, like always, he felt a sudden cold breeze as if his father was standing behind him—shaming him for being so content. So **weak**. It was like being back at home again with his sisters looking down at him. But, before his emotions could've gotten the better of him, Badgerclops got his attention as he struggled to carry a stack of bot parts.

"Hello~! Mind helping us out?"

Mao Mao looked behind him to be sure that his father wasn't there, nodded, and made his way towards him while picking up any parts that remained on the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there! Thanks for reading my first ever fanfic! I would like to thank my beta reader (MaoMaoLover123) for helping me out with getting it started. I have four chapters planned out so keep an eye out for new chapters.


	2. Sacrifice Everything

Upon placing the last robot parts onto the garage's workstation, Badgerclops went over to Mao Mao and thanked him for the assist. Then, he initially tried to get his friend to relax; unfortunately, he was already on his way back to the dojo for meditation. It was understandable since he would've been in severe pain tomorrow if he didn't maintain his body. So, instead, Badgerclops spent more time with Adorabat by watching some cheesy drama. It wasn't great, in all honesty, but he liked spending time with her.

Thirty minutes later, Mao Mao returned and looked somewhat relaxed before making his way over to the couch. He took a seat next to Adorabat as she began to bombard him with questions about his adventures. Again. Badgerclops started to wonder if his friend was ever going to tell every adventure he lived through. But even he was caught off-guard when Mao Mao began to talk about his first serious battle with Badgerclops. He remembered it like it happened yesterday.

The battle took place days after Mao Mao saved Badgerclops from the fire, which he (admittedly) caused by accident. They were setting up camp for the night inside of a cavern. Suddenly, a two-headed monster emerged from the water nearby and attacked them. But, as usual, Mao Mao's recollection of that day was heavily exaggerated, with him being the hero at the end of his tale. It clearly bothered Badgerclops, but he kept his true feelings to himself because he'd inadvertently upset Adorabat if he opened his mouth to protest even once. Instead, he got up and left for his garage to distract himself by fixing the training bots.

Once he was finally alone with his own thoughts, Badgerclops let out an audible groan and then murmured. "I should've expected him to lie about that battle. And now, I am forced to fix these stupid bots! Great!"

Badgerclops kept on complaining to himself as he started working a training bot with his head completely detached from its body. Then, it was another with his body sliced in half. And another and another until he found himself done with the last bot. It was a surprise because it ordinarily took him nearly two days to do the repairs. Then, after hearing the stairs creak, he turned around and saw Mao Mao, coming down with a mug.

Even Mao Mao was impressed that the bots were fixed so quickly. He placed down the mug next to Badgerclops and smiled at him before saying, "Thanks for doing that."

Badgerclops grabbed the mug and realized it was hot cocoa, which he always drank—regardless of the year. He took a slip and then dismissed his friend's gratitude. "I was going to do it... eventually."

Mao Mao went over and started inspecting one of the bots, particularly the back of their necks. He sighed and looked like he was about to ask something before stopping himself. Badgerclops stood up and knew instantly what his friend wanted him to do, which involved upgrading the bot's combat difficulty. And he already had a simple answer: no.

For one, the difficulty was already high enough that its laser could destroy wood and fabrics. Their flexibility was programmed to be that of an experienced ballerina. And moreover, it was just too dangerous to upgrade any further unless he was looking forward to getting himself killed. Before Mao Mao had the chance to turn around, Badgerclop got up from his chair and said firmly, "I won't upgrade them."

Mao Mao looked back with a mix of shock and anger before asking him with a little attitude, "Why not?"

"I don't want to see my best friend get killed because of me." Badgerclop answered. "I am helping you out."

Mao Mao knew that to be a lie and called his friend out on it. "Oh! If you were genuinely helping me out, then you should have no problems upgrading the training bots for me. Instead, here you are, treating me like I'm some sort of weakling."

"That's not-" Badgerclops tried to explain again but was interrupted before he had the chance to.

"Oh, then what is it?" Mao Mao asked but realized the answer was in front of him for the beginning. "Are you jealous of **me**?"

Badgerclops was taken back and utterly dumbfounded at that ridiculous question. "Where did you get that from?!"

"You've always been upset that I wanted to be a legendary hero. Like for example, you left in such a hurry while telling Adorabat a story of my heroics earlier." Mao Mao responded.

Badgerclop was astonished that Mao Mao came up with the most ludicrous explanation he ever heard during their time together. "Are you- You know what, I left because you were basically lying to her about what happened at the cavern. That's it."

Mao Mao didn't understand why Badgerclops was upset over that moment, assuming it was nothing more than bitterness at the fact he didn't beat up the monster. So, he confronted him about it. "Why do you care so much about it? It was like nothing happened there."

 **"Nothing?!"** Badgerclop seethed after he heard what his friend said out loud. He was absolutely furious, which was rare for anyone—especially Mao Mao—to witness. But, he didn't yell or shame his friend. Instead, he wanted Mao Mao to truly remember what **really** happened on that night. "Actually, a lot happened on that day. Think hard without the lies that you made-up for Adorabat."

To say that Mao Mao was surprised to see his usually relaxed friend angry was an understatement. So, to calm Baderclops down, he took his advice and started trying to remember that day. And for the most part, Mao Mao was right until the climax of the battle. The two-headed monster was more formidable than both of them expected and suffered severe wounds before Badgerclop sent it back to the underground lake. But he fell to the ground, which caused Mao Mao to panic.

Mao Mao, able to better handle the pain, ran over to his friend and tore his cape to use as a makeshift bandage on him. Badgerclop thanked him for that and everything else that happened in their time together as partners. And then, all of a sudden, he confessed to having feelings for his dear friend. The black cat was caught off-guard by the declaration and asked a simple question:

_"Why me?"_

And Badgerclop responded with an answer that made Mao Mao cry for the first time since they met:

 _"Because you **saved**_ me. _You saved me from countless monsters and villains. You saved me from my old gang. You saved me from **me**. You've made me a better man than my parents ever tried. And for that, I love you so much, man." _

And then, they shared their first kiss inside that cavern, the place where their romantic relationship began. That was the reason why Badgerclops got so mad when he exaggerated that night to Adorabat earlier. It meant a lot to his friend. Now, Mao Mao realized it and was at a loss of words and just said _'Oh'_ to himself. However, he genuinely believed that things between them were patched after the breakup. "I...I thought we were done."

"We still are." Badgerclops made that part clean to Mao Mao before continuing, which hurt both of them. "But our relationship not working out, in the end, doesn't make all of the memories fade away. Though I wonder if you even told Adorabat the ending of the story, or did you made a new one up?"

Mao Mao looked away with guilt and remained silent, confirming what his friend already knew. Badgerclops sighed and shook his head in disappointment before pinching his nose, "Of course you did. I'm done for the night. If you're looking for a quick way to get yourself killed, then go ahead. I won't stop you this time."

And with that, Badgerclops departed the garage leaving Mao Mao alone with his own thoughts, which weren't great at the moment. He felt his face softened and tears came into his eyes, unable to contain them any longer. _**'So weak.'**_ he told himself. He had failed his friend again by letting him down, failed himself by giving in to his own emotions, and failed his family for disappointing them again. Now, he was failing them once more. And then, that familiar coldness appeared over his shoulder like his father was there.

 _'If you want to be a legendary hero, you must be willing to sacrifice **everything**.'_ Mao Mao remembered his father's advice and knew exactly what must be done. He wiped away the tears and made his way to the computer. There, he began getting to work on reprogramming the training bots to be like the legendary villains that his father and ancestors faced. It was time to prove he was ready to become a legendary hero.

No matter the cost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank everyone for having a look at my first chapter and I hope y'all like this chapter! I will say that the third chapter won't be uploaded until the holidays are done. It's a busy time for the year, after all. And, of course, I want to thank my beta reader again for helping out once more.


	3. Never Surrender

Badgerclops watched Mao Mao getting ready for another practice session from the kitchen window. Deep down, he had hoped that black cat wasn't going to modify the training bots. When he saw his friend earlier, however, he already knew the answer. And it was truly disappointing. Badgerclops always seemingly forgot how much Mao Mao wanted his family's respect. In some way, he related to wanting that love for his parents and siblings; but, Badgerclops understood that some families weren't worth the effort. 

That was the case for Mao Mao's family, according to Badgerclops.

Suddenly, Badgerclops felt a strong tug from his bandolier and turned to see it was Adorabat. She looked rather concerned about something, and that something was obviously her role model. He smiled and then greeted the bat, "Oh, hey. What's up with you?"

"Is Mao Mao okay?" Adorabat asked with some sadness in her voice. "He looks sad today."

"I dunno." Badgerclops lied because she was too young to understand. Then, he came up with a plan to get them away from headquarters. "How about we look at the market for something to cheer him up? It's that time of the week, after all."

Adorabat thought about it for a moment before nodding with a big smile on her face. "Yeah! Maybe we can get more ice cream sandwiches or..."

"We'll figure it out." Badgerclops smiled. "In the meantime, why don't you get the aerocycle ready?"

"Really?!" Adorabat's face lit up in delight, and she ran outside before Badgerclop had the chance to speak. He chuckled and made his way over towards Mao Mao, who was almost done with his full body stretches. Both of them didn't say anything and instead nodded before Badgerclops made his way out. The black cat understood that his friend was going out with Adorabat, leaving him alone for the time being. He finished up and made his way to the stopwatch.

_'You are going to beat that time and prove you're better than them. Better than **him**.'_ Mao Mao told himself as he slowly pulled out his katana while the training bots began starting up. Then, he started the stopwatch and threw it aside while running towards one of the bots. 

Meanwhile, Badgerclops and Adorabat made it into the village and parked the aerocycle near the marketplace. It was jam-packed with the locals spending their hard-earned coins on supplies uncommon in the valley. Adorabat made her way over towards the candy stall, drooling over the sweets on display. Badgerclops was heading over to buy her one until he heard his name being called out. It was Ol' Blue with a basket of books. 

"Oh, hey there. How's your day been so far?"

"Alright. Managed to grab a few books that were on sale." Ol' Blue shook his basket and then looked around for the other sheriff and one of his clients. "I'd assume that Mao Mao isn't with you?"

"Yeah." Badgerclops looked down for a moment and sighed. "You wanted to check up on him?"

Ol' Blue nodded. "Well, I just wanted to remind him that he can always visit me whenever he's ready."

"I'll let him know when I see him." Suddenly, a loud explosion caught everyone's attention, causing them to panic. Badgerclops realized almost instantly that it came from the dojo and ran to get a view of the headquarters. And his fear was confirmed when a mixture of smoke and the occasional laser beam dominated the hillside. Everyone, including Ol' Blue and Adorabat, came over to see where the sound came from. 

Without any hesitation, Badgerclops ran over towards the aerocycle and hopped on while Adorabat flew over towards him. She was clearly upset and scared about Mao Mao's safety and wanted to join. But before she could have the chance to speak, Badgerclops left the village and made his way back home, where his best friend was in danger. 

Over in the dojo, Mao Mao never expected to be overwhelmed by the training bots so fast. At first, he managed to cut down two of them before their reflexes improved, making them more challenging to destroy. Then, one of the bots managed to deploy a smoke bomb, making it difficult to see. Yet, he kept on fighting. He took out several more bots and seemed like he was about to win until he got hit. While he was jumping over one of them, another bot got a clear shot and fired at the sheriff, sending him flying towards the wall. 

Mao Mao dropped his katana and collapsed to the ground with his entire back in pain. For some reason, he started to tear up while struggling to get back up. But, he fell again. The remaining training bots gathered and began making their way towards him while the black cat was getting sleepy. Then, a sudden cold arrived to awake him, reminding him of his father and... home. _It was autumn, and everyone was outside practicing as usual. Mao Mao stood by one of his sisters, who avoided him, while his father pulled the spear out of the training dummy._

_"That's how you pull a spear out of something without damaging the tip. It's essential that the weapon manage its sharpness; otherwise, you'll be at a disadvantage during combat." His father explained while he handed the spear back to his sisters._

_"Father..." One of his sisters started before stopping herself. "Forget it, it was a-"_

_"No." Father interrupted and placed his hand on her shoulder gently. "You shouldn't ever hesitate to speak your mind. Even if you think it's 'stupid.' Finish your thought."_

_His sister was still quiet before she finished her question. "... What should we do if we are hurt or surrounded during a fight? Do we try to retreat?"_

_Father took a deep breath and let go of her shoulder to answer. "No. Our ancestors spent centuries protecting our homeland from danger. Some of them lived long lives while others... died with honor. They were expected to fight without fear of death or harm, as did me, my father, and my grandfather. Now, I am expecting my children to do the same."_

_"What if we can't get over that fear?" The other sisters looked away in shame for thinking the same thing. Mao Mao watched as his father looked around and then sighed before getting down on his knee to say something else. "When I left home for the first time, I had that same fear when I came across T-Wreck and his pals. I managed to lose my weapon during the fight and became defenseless. But, despite that fear, I fought with my bare hands and won. That was when I learned that fear was nothing more than an obstacle standing in your way. And the only way to control what you feared is to **never surrender**. Otherwise, you lose."_

Mao Mao grabbed the katana and used it to get up while that sentence repeated again and again. Never surrender. He got ready to strike as the training bots slowly approached, prepared to attack their target. _Never surrender._ There was a moment where he thought that his life was about to end because of some robots. He thought it was a pathetic way to die, but he wasn't going down without a fight. But more importantly, he was going to honor his father by following his guidance: **never surrender.**

Before Mao Mao had the chance to strike, a bright light caught his attention as it got closer and forced him to dive out of the way. That was when he saw the aerocycle ramming into one of the bots and crashing into the nearby wall. And he watched his best friend, Badgerclops, taking out another bot while in the air with his cannon arm. The smoke started to dissipate and revealing there were a few more robots left. Without saying a word, Mao Mao and Badgerclops worked together to take out the remaining bots. 

It was relatively swift, but Mao Mao was a little annoyed that Badgerclops came to his rescue... again. To make up for that, he worked extra hard to take over the remaining bots despite being in severe pain and feeling so weak. The sheriff didn't speak until he cut down the last bot. And he didn't sound grateful for the aid. "I... could've... handled them."

Badgerclops was flabbergasted that his friend said that while he was out of breath and in great pain. He wasn't going to let him get away with that blatant lie. "No, you couldn't. And don't attempt to say you're okay because I saw you limping while running towards that bot."

Mao Mao noticed that one of the bots slowly aimed his blaster arm at Badgerclops, who was pleading to take a well-earned break. Without hesitation, the black cat drew his katara and got in front of his friend to protect him. He managed to block one of the lasers and then another before the third hit him square in the chest. Badgerclops cried out in horror and then... oblivion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! It has been a while since I posted Chapter 2, but I'm back with the third chapter! Sorry about that. With the holidays and stuff happening in my life, I didn't have time to work on this chapter in its entirety. Thankfully, I have plenty of free time to work on the final chapter of my first fanfic! Hopefully, I can finish and post it in a reasonable time period.


End file.
